In the Meet the Team section

Veterinary Surgeons

Helen qualified from Cambridge University in 1984 and started working at Towcester Veterinary Centre shortly afterwards. She became a partner at the practice in 1994 and passed the RCVS certificate examination in Small Animal Surgery in 2010.

Helen enjoys the job every part of her job from the consulting to the operating and taking surgical referrals from other practices. She especially enjoys complex orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery. She is one of the only people in Northamptonshire registered to carry out laparoscopic (keyhole abdominal) surgery in animals.

Outside work Helen enjoys running – so much so that’s she completed nine marathons! She also competes with her horse regularly. She has had working Labradors and Cocker Spaniels over the years. Helen also very much enjoys watching top class rugby.

Cat qualified from the Ontario Veterinary College in Canada in 2000 and came to UK and worked in mixed practice for a few years. She started at Towcester Veterinary Centre in 2005 and became a partner in 2011. In 2006 she passed the RCVS examination in Small Animal Surgery and is now head of our surgical referral service. Cat enjoys all aspects of surgery but particularly fracture management and cruciate surgery and along with Helen is one of the few people who carry out laparoscopic surgery in Northamptonshire.

When not in the operating theatre Cat likes spending time with her young son and their pets: two cats, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Buster, 5 fish and two horses. She enjoys horse riding, skiing, running, cycling, cooking and travelling and has completed several half marathons and triathlons.

Jen Calder BVetMed MRCVS

Clinical Director

Jen qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in London in 2010 and started working at Towcester Veterinary Centre shortly after. Her professional interests include emergency and critical care, dermatology, backyard poultry, and exotic pets.

Jen lives with two cats, Pirate and Astro (both rescued from work), three ferrets (who she is hoping to breed), a tarantula called Tiki and some Giant African Land Snails.

Aside from looking after her pets, Jen enjoys watching movies, going to concerts, walking and general outdoor pursuits. Her current ambition is to learn to roller skate!

Sarah May BVSc, MRCVS

Assistant

Sarah qualified from Bristol University in 1997 and has worked in small animal practice ever since. She has worked in Northampton for 13 years and joined Towcester Veterinary Centre in 2011. She particularly enjoys consulting, internal medicine cases, dermatology and generally building bonds with clients and their pets.

Sarah lives in Northampton with her husband and baby daughter. Outside work she enjoys landscape photography, salsa dancing, playing the oboe, guitar and recorder and singing.

Sophie O’Doherty BVSc MRCVS

Assistant

Sophie qualified from Bristol in 2010 and worked in a mixed practice in Wales for 2 years, before moving south and switching to small animal practice. She joined Towcester Veterinary Centre in February 2014.

She particularly enjoys animal medicine and is looking forward to starting a certificate of further study in this area.

Hannah Flatt BvetMed MRCVS PGCertsam

Assistant

Hannah qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2007 and has worked in small animal practice ever since. She joined Towcester Veterinary Centre in 2018.

She particularly enjoys small animal internal medicine and critical care and completed the BSAVA certificate in small animal medicine in 2014.

Hannah lives in Northamptonshire with her husband, two young children and their three lurchers. She enjoys dog walking holidays with the family, running and mountain biking

Damiano Giordano DVM MRCVS

Assistant

Damiano qualified from Bologna university(Italy) in 2012 and moved to the UK in 2013 in order to further his career in the veterinary industry. He worked at a first opinion small animal vet in the Northamptonshire area and joined TVC in June 2017.

He has a strong interest in surgery(soft tissue and orthopaedic)and he is currently studying for a specialist certificate in this area. In his spare time he likes cooking, (especially pizza!), spending time with his wife and their 2 year old son, going to the gym and travelling.

Helena Brownfield DVM MRCVS

Assistant

Helena qualified from Szent Istvan University in Hungary in 2017. She completed all of her work experience during vet school with Towcester Vets, so came to work here shortly after graduating. Helena enjoys all aspects of the job, especially surgery, first opinion consulting, and out of hours work. In her free time Helena enjoys eventing her horses, running, and bringing up her new labrador puppy!